Ashley Williams
Biography Early Life= Born on April 14, 2158 on the Vercingetorix Outpost on the colony world Sirona in the 61 Ursae Majoris system, Ashley comes from a large family that includes a long line of Alliance soldiers: her great-grandmother, grandfather, and father all served in the Alliance Navy. She is the oldest of four daughters, followed by Abby, Lynn, and Sarah. Because of her father’s frequent deployments, Ashley and her family transferred from colony to colony at least half a dozen times before she finished grade school and grew up in a relatively stable life with her mother as her father was constantly on active duty while also helping to raise her sisters. As a result, the siblings grew close to one another. However, despite his hard work, her father never rose above the rank of Serviceman 3rd Class, a fact she is deeply bitter about. |-| Military Career= Following family tradition, Ashley enlisted in the Alliance military as a marine after high school and was assigned to the Recruit Training Depot in Macapá, Brazil. During training, she certified proficient with the standard-issue M7 Lancer assault rifle and light and standard weight combat hardsuits. She completed certification in zero-gee combat aboard the Rakesh Sharma Orbital Platform in Earth geosynchronous orbit. For Hostile Environment Assault Training, she was assigned to Fort Charles Upham on Saturn's moon, Titan. She was awarded a commendation for her bold assault technique in a field exercise simulating an attack on turian point defense emplacements. Drill Instructor Gunnery Chief Ellison noted her steadfast endurance and aggressive instincts, and promoted her to the role of squad leader. After observing her effective tutelage of the less skilled members of her training unit, he promoted her to platoon guide. She maintains a friendly correspondence with Drill Instructor Gunnery Chief Ellison. Determined to do her best as she was quite resentful about the very clear discrimination against her father despite his exemplary record, Ashley worked very hard, setting high scores in almost every drill she was part of, and leaving very little leeway for her instructors to be able to reprimand her for any slacking of any kind. She got certified for use of assault rifles, Zero-G combat and garnered many commendations throughout her training from various instructors. She tried multiple times to get transferred to shipside posts, but her requests were always denied for no explicit reason and she was always assigned to groundside garrison posts. Still, she did the best she could with every mission she was handed, no matter how much she believed she deserved better missions that would truly test her abilities as a soldier. Chief Williams has served in a number of ground force garrisons on Alliance colony worlds and industrial outposts. She has repeatedly requested transfer to a shipboard posting, but each request has been denied without comment by her superiors. Every year since enlistment, she has used her mandatory week of leave to visit her family on Amaterasu. In 2181, she made an exceptional request for a week-long leave of absence from her posting at the Czarnobóg Fleet Depot, citing family issues. Eden Prime War Attack on Eden Prime Two days before the attack on Eden Prime, Ashley was at a bar during shore leave with her fellow soldiers from Unit 212. Sergeant Donkey kept trying to seduce her to no avail, and Ash even joked about hooking up with Pennyloafer, a girl, instead. The horsing around was interrupted with the arrival of the unit’s commanding officer, who presented the soldiers with a rescue mission. A beacon was unearthed and the unit was assigned to defend it. Despite being a normal squad leader, Ashley wasn’t given command on the mission, with leadership duties being regulated to Sergeant Donkey. Ashley correctly interpreted the commanding officer’s prejudice regarding her heritage, and grudgingly accepted the situation. Unlike the rest of the squads in Unit 212, Ashley’s 6-man team Dog Squad was ordered to go to the mission site on foot. During the long trek, Sergeant Donkey expressed his belief that Ashley should be the one leading the mission, praising her ability to keep a level head under pressure. Ashley observed that he was still trying to sleep with her and Donkey didn’t deny the assertion, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t being earnest. Ashley held out hope that maybe she and Donkey will get lucky one day, and continued the march ahead. On the eve of the eve of the attack, Dog Squad discovered fellow 212 group Bravo Squad dead in a ditch. Ash was ordered to pair up with Bates to investigate, and noticed that the dead soldiers didn’t even have the chance to draw their weapons. Bates was distraught at the side of a dead soldier he once knew, and Ash put her hand on his shoulder to console him. Intercepted transmissions later indicated that the other squads Able and Charlie were under attack from an unknown enemy. Because of the situation change and the need for a real leader, Sergeant Donkey relinquished leadership of Dog Squad to Ashley. Ashley then stirred up the group’s fighting spirit and encouraged them to double-time it to the dig site. Dog Squad surveyed the dig site at dawn, and surmised the enemy attackers were geth. They were unfortunately spotted by geth recon drones and fired upon. Ashley attempted to execute the squad’s battle plan: she sent Rasputin to an elevated position, gave Sergeant Donkey orders to create a diversion, and tried to set up an ambush herself. Their flanking maneuver brought down some geth, but the squad began to take heavy casualties. Pennyloafer was dead and Ashley ordered Jenner to transmit a general warning, but the comm specialist was shot before long. Rasputin and Donkey went down before getting the chance to heed Ashley’s retreat call. Bates disappeared and didn’t respond to Ashley’s hails, leaving her alone to fend off the geth. She would not take defeat lying down, and successfully fought her way out of her surrounded position. She played cat and mouse with the geth until they found her again, and just when she was sure she was about to be shot dead she got lucky: Commander John Shepard and Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko arrived to her rescue, where they worked together to figure out what was going on. Traits Personality= Ashley is a tough, tomboyish woman known for being strong-willed, stubborn and rebellious. She is not afraid to speak her mind and often displays a no-nonsense attitude. Because of this, Ashley tends to come off as opinionated, brash, and quick-tempered; regardless, she keeps a level-headed demeanor in the presence of superior officers and is a highly disciplined model soldier. Despite her prickly and aggressive nature, Ash does have a softer, playful, more compassionate side and is a generally nurturing and protective person. She cares deeply about her family name, ever since she was a child she wanted to honor her father and grandfather by carrying over the tradition by joining the Alliance military to uphold her family's legacy. Surprisingly, Ashley also likes poetry and states that she is not "one for words", using her interest in poetry to help say what she feels. Ashley at first does not seem to trust aliens as Earth's allies and believes that humanity should trust their own. Because of this, she tends to play the cynic role, naturally distrusting politicians and their compromises. She is a Christian and strongly religious about it, which by 2183 is considered a rarity. |-| Appearance= Ashley has dark chocolate brown hair, brown eyes, and a tan skin color. Used to wearing combat armor, she sports a stockier and very athletic build, gained from her specialization in assault training. Her shoulders are slightly broader than that of most females, though she still retains some semblance of a feminine curvaceous and slender figure. She is also quite well-endowed, though she finds her sisters managed to get away with most of the assets in that area. Ashley’s hair reaches just past her shoulders, with long bangs that are usually pinned back. Like many humans in the 22nd century, Ashley is of mixed ethnicities – perhaps something like half Midwestern American of distant English descent, with the rest split between Latina heritages and Mediterranean ancestries. Summary of Service Vocational Codes: S1, B4, O5 Dates of Rank *2176: Serviceman 3rd Class *2180: Gunnery Chief Awards and Decorations The following is a list of awards and honors awarded to Ashley Williams. These include awards and decorations of the Systems Alliance, civilian awards, interspecies honors, and knighthoods. Medals and Ribbons= |-| Badges= |-| Interspecies Honors Assignments *2176: Systems Alliance enlisted service. *2176: Student, Recruit Training Depot, Macapá, Brazil, Earth. *2177: Student, Zero-G certified, Rakesh Sharma Orbital Platform, Earth. *2177: Student, Hostile Environment Assault Training, Fort Charles Upham, Titan, Saturn. *2180: Squad Leader, Dog Squad, Unit 212, 2nd Frontier Division, Eden Prime. *2183: Participant, Battle of Eden Prime. Threat Assessment Abilities= * Expert Markswoman: Being a weapons specialist she’s fully qualified and physically fit for light-to-medium armor, and is a superior marksman. Her aim is very accurate, and more importantly she’s just as good in the field and under pressure than at the shooting range. * Genetic Enhancements: As a Systems Alliance marine, Ashley received various minor genetic enhancements to increase her health, endurance, ability to develop muscle mass, power of recovery and other desirable characteristics. * Leadership: Her comrades of Unit 212 described her as the most authoritative of her whole platoon, and she is a capable, collected and authoritative non-commissioned officer. She’s also good at coaching soldiers to develop their military skills, which she credits to having partially raised her three younger sisters. Secondary sources indicate that she has a B4 military qualification, with no indication as to what it means. * Peak Human Conditioning: Ashley has a strong background in assault training and fitness. She is a formidable marine – an aggressive fighter, a competent weapons maintenance technician, and accurate soldier. * Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): Ashley is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat due to her training in the military. |-| Weaknesses= * '''Human Vulnerabilities: One of Ashley's greatest weakness is that she is quite vulnerable to the physical attacks of stronger and more powerful opponents. Ashley, however, usually compensates for for this quite well with her fierce determination and combat training. Gear Weapons= * M-8 Avenger * Combat Knife |-| Equipment= * Omni-Tool ** Omni-Gel Trivia and Notes Trivia= *She is the fourth generation of the Williams family to be in the Alliance military. *Ashley's hobbies include reading poetry, cleaning guns, and having evening drinks. *Ashley is bitter that her father never rose above the rank of Serviceman 3rd Class because of the stigma her grandfather still held among the Alliance brass. *Ashley has a strong religious faith, though her precise faith and denomination are never elaborated upon, except for her belief in Judgment Day. However, she is hesitant to discuss it with Shepard because of her concern of the uneasiness it may cause in others. |-| Notes= *Likeness based on Erica Cerra. Category:Characters